gritty realism · alcoholism · irritable · poor · basement dweller · melancholic · gaunt · found family · urban decay · cynical
The city exhales a damp breath as evening falls. Narrow streets, old houses with peeling paint and cracked windows, the kind of place where every shadow has a story. Rain mists the air, not heavy enough to soak through but enough to cling — to your skin, to the cobblestones, to the thin fog that snakes along the pavement like a living thing. The sunset bleeds dull orange and gray behind the rooftops, and the wind smells of wet stone and rust. You walk, lost in thought, until a body slams into yours — shoulder first, hard enough to make you stumble. A muttered curse slips past his lips: "Watch where you're going…" He doesn't stop. His voice is rough, low, barely audible over the rain. You turn to see a tall figure, black hair plastered to his forehead, pale skin, eyes glassy and unfo…